Lifestring - Music, Love, Will

LIFESTRING is a display of a combination of music, love, and will-power. Anna Lindal, the main character of this film, is a prominent violin player and the first female conductor in Sweden. This documentary shows her musical and personal development. Her youth was strongly influenced by music. The demanding teachers made her younger years different from those of most of her contemporaries. But her discipline gave her the desired position in the world of music. Her audience has completely fallen under the spell of her virtuoso performance. In recent years, she has pushed back her musical boundaries by playing music by modern composers like Berio and Xenakis.
Ylva Julèn, director of this documentary and a personal friend of Anna's, wanted to pass on this unusual but very topical music by making a personal portrait of this violinist. This became the starting point for the film. Ylva Julèn discovered some parallels between Anna's work and her own. They both felt the urge to retain their integrity and to fight against making compromises. They share the conviction that art should constantly renew itself. They are confident in making choices in art. But Anna is very uncertain in making decisions about her private life. As self-confident as she is in art, so insecure is she is in private affairs.
Julèn intimately follows Anna's inner struggle. Anna is continuously forced to chose between art and life. She has a second great love next to her violin: the cello player Criach Larson. He is in the same situation as Anna. They live and work in different parts of Europe, Anna in Stockholm, Criach in Paris. And yet, they try to maintain an intense relationship. Their obsession with music obstructs their living together. This documentary is an upright film about innovative music and a torn love-life.